What Sophia Bush Wishes She Could Tell Her 20-Year-Old Self About Beauty

Sophia Bush‘s career got a jump start when she dropped out of the University of Southern California at age 21 to join the hit TV show One Tree Hill, and it hasn’t slowed down since. And while she admits she’s been fortunate to have a steady job in TV for the past 13 years, for a while, the star struggled with taking time for herself until she started working on her latest series, Chicago P.D.

“For me, having a conversation about self-care and taking some of the pressure off is deeply important right now. I wish I had known prioritizing myself was okay earlier on,” Bush told PeopleStyle at the Unlock Your bold launch event celebrating Listerine’s new collection of guided meditations on the Inscape app. “I started going to set 30 minutes earlier than they needed me so I could sit in my trailer by myself after hair and makeup, put my headphones in and do a meditation app.”

Even simple, small moments, like taking 30 seconds during her lunch break on set to freshen up created a snowball effect towards positive, healthy change in the star’s life. “I take 30 seconds to reset while I swish Listerine. [It’s] matter of professional courtesy — which is especially important for my interrogation scenes — and also a small moment of mindfulness for me,” she said. “You don’t have to move to Bali for six months and become a yogi to feel centered!”

Bush also revealed that at 34 years old, she’s reached a point in her life where she doesn’t stress about what anyone thinks of her choices fashion-wise, especially noting her bold hot pink monochromatic look at the SAG Awards this past January.

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“I don’t take fashion all that seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I don’t think it’s rocket science. I don’t think we’re going to break something in the universe if no one likes my look,” Bush said. “[When I was younger], I wish I hadn’t been so nervous about making sure everybody liked me.”

The risks she’s taking are already paying off. The star said she was quite proud to be one of the women that paved the way early on for the pink eye makeup trend, which was created by makeup artist Patrick Ta for the award show. “Now everyone is wearing pink!” Bush said. “I was like, ‘Patrick Ta! You and me started a trend!'”

How do you enjoy indulging in self-care like Sophia? Tell us what you do in the comments below.